The UK Society for Behaviour Analysis (UK-SBA) condemns the use of procedures that are harmful, degrading, painful, or dehumanising.

The UK-SBA Code of Ethical and Professional Conduct mandates the use of constructional, reinforcement-based procedures underpinned by a focus on improving quality of life.  These strategies include, but are not limited to:

• identifying a person’s needs and desires and ensuring they are met proactively;
• enhancing quality of life through engagement in preferred, meaningful activities;
• teaching people the skills they need to live a fulfilling life;
• examining physical and social environments for sources of punitive, restrictive or otherwise stressful events and altering those environments to cultivate positive relationships and satisfying experiences.

The UK-SBA believes that using positive, proactive, values-based approaches, which focus on understanding people’s needs and working in collaboration with them to build skills and create opportunities to succeed, make punitive procedures unnecessary.  All UK-SBA registrants have signed up to our ethical code, and any registrant found to be using harmful, degrading, painful, or dehumanising punishment procedures will be removed from our register.